Music and entertainment systems for the consumer have undergone enormous improvements in the last few decades. Equipment size as decreased from bulky and heavy to palm-size and extremely light weight. Media for storage in the form of cassette tapes and then compact discs has allowed an increasingly larger amount of songs and voice to be carried easily from place to place. Flash memory card storage and compressed audio formats have allowed additional breakthroughs. The consumer appetite for even more personal access to large volumes of audio clearly has invited increased use of hard disc storage and presented a need for Internet access even in inexpensive systems.
In recent years the specifications of the motion picture experts group (MPEG) have exerted a strong influence on all new design activity. The MPEG specifications relate to both picture and sound. MP3 audio, which is a specific MPEG layer 3 audio format, is becoming enormously popular as the audio format of choice for the future. Available MP3 players have already been introduced illustrating that the healthy appetite of many consumers can be satisfied with technology available, but the price may still be prohibitive.
In consumer electronics, however, additional product cost reduction is always needed. Lower costs translate to higher demand and more customers. New techniques for reducing cost will always be sought.